Pocono Mountain will refund cost to students of error-filled West yearbook

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Posted Jun. 20, 2014 at 11:10 AM
Updated Jun 20, 2014 at 6:32 PM

Posted Jun. 20, 2014 at 11:10 AM
Updated Jun 20, 2014 at 6:32 PM

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Pocono Mountain School District will refund the full $85 cost of a yearbook to every Pocono Mountain West student who ordered one after spelling and other errors created a stir among students and parents.

Mistakes on the pages ranged from "Mock Trail" instead of "Mock Trial" to a 2013 instead of 2014 label for this year's graduating class. Spokeswoman Wendy Frable said administrators were "extremely upset" about the problems and a letter and checks will go out Monday.

Superintendent Elizabeth Robison sent a message to parents Thursday night to let them know she was concerned and working for a solution, Frable said.

Administrators researched possible solutions "to try to make amends to our students and their families for the numerous unacceptable errors in the yearbook that should have been fixed during a proofing process," Frable said by email. "Clearly, the proofing and production process for this product broke down, and that is something we have to fix immediately to ensure this does not happen again."

The district's website lists a teacher as adviser to the yearbook staff and the teachers' contract shows high school yearbook advisers received $3,494 in 2013-14. But Frable said it would not be "fair or accurate" to fault one individual when the process that should involve several broke down.

"Administration is already dealing with that issue," Frable said. "I can't discuss any specific employee actions that have been or will be taken."

Senior Amir Blair, a football player, said Friday that students got the yearbooks last week and noticed the mistakes immediately. When he flipped to the football page, he saw four pictures of the same person, and two of them were the same photo. Another page has "Homecoming Quiin" instead of "Queen."

"You can literally go through every single page and probably find one," he said.

Students were either upset or laughing at the mistakes, Blair said. While other years there may have been small mistakes, this year's is clearly the worst.

Blair said he would like a reprint, though his current book is already signed and he would hold onto both.

"It just seems like some of the people that were making it were just careless with it," he said.